Before you spend on ads, sort the next click.

Decide what a good enquiry looks like

Before planning an advertising campaign, decide what you want it to achieve. A booking, a quote request and an online purchase are different actions. Each needs a different path through your website.

For a small business, we recommend starting with one clear offer. Write down who it is for, what they need and what you would like them to do next. If the answer takes a paragraph to explain, simplify it before you build the campaign.

Match the page to the promise

If an advert promotes one service, send people to a page about that service. Give them enough information to decide whether it is right for them. Keep the main message, relevant examples and the next step close together.

Google lists landing page quality among the factors used to calculate Ad Rank. It considers whether a page is relevant, useful and easy to navigate. Increasing a bid is only one part of how an advert competes.

• Repeat the offer clearly at the top of the page.
• Show the details a customer needs before enquiring.
• Use genuine proof you have permission to share.
• Make the primary button easy to find on mobile.
• Test the form and the destination of every enquiry.

Plan what you will measure

Clicks tell you that people arrived. Your business also needs to know what happened next. Before launch, agree which actions you will count and who will review the quality of the enquiries.

We would start with a simple record: what was spent, how many enquiries arrived, which were relevant and what happened after follow up. Keep advertising spend separate from management and website costs so the full investment is clear.

Make the first campaign a useful test

Choose a defined offer, an agreed budget and a review date. Use what you learn to adjust the message, page or targeting. Avoid changing everything at once, because it becomes harder to understand what made the difference.

If the website still leaves people guessing about your offer or how to contact you, address that first. It gives every visitor a clearer route to becoming a customer, wherever they came from.